Since 1997, Steve Deves has played a valuable role as Montgomery City’s administrator.

He oversaw a city budget that has more than doubled for the last 25 years, helped build and finance sewer plants, a business park and an industrial park and picked up extra duties such as building inspector, safety officer and economic development director.

On April 27, Deves was honored for his major contributions at the Montgomery City Area Chamber of Commerce Banquet at the Mid-Mo Shriners Building in Montgomery City. He received the chamber’s Lifetime Achievement Award, just four days shy of his 26th anniversary of his first day as city administrator.

“I can’t say enough for all of the people who are here,” Deves said. “It’s pretty, pretty cool. Just to see all of people who are out here, it means a lot to me. I am actually quite relieved after figuring this out when we came into tonight. For the last couple of months, I was getting blood tests and all kinds of stuff. My wife was asking me a lot of weird questions. I’m really happy to see that it wasn’t for an obituary.”

Deves’ son, Taylor, presented the award.

“I believe this year’s recipient, my dad, exemplifies all of the values that make our community great, like hard work, loving family and friends, community service, a friendly attitude and the ability to truly enjoy the life he has been blessed with,” Taylor said.

The 56-year-old Deves joined a large group of people who won the award that included his father, Gerald, who was the recipient in 2012. Gerald was in attendance at the banquet, as well as other past recipients such as Dick Arens (2003), Brent Speight (2013), Jim Krattli (2014) and Mike Lichtenberg (2015).

“My dad set an awesome example of how to be a good community (resident), a good dad and a good husband,” Deves said. “Then, I got to read that whole speech that Taylor read for me for my dad 11 years ago, which was really cool.”

A 1984 Montgomery County High graduate, Deves grew up playing video games, fishing in the family pond, collecting baseball cards, feeding cattle, mowing yards and putting up hay bales.

“Dad had a great place to grow up and had plenty to do on the family farm,” Taylor said. “He grew up in a strict and loving home and learned the value of hard work and responsibility at an early age.”

Deves started working as city administrator on May 1, 1997. Current Deputy City Clerk/Treasurer Linda Block administered the oath of office to Deves the week before.

“Although he was inexperienced, he knew that nobody would have Montgomery’s best interest in mind more than him,” Taylor Deves said. “He would work hard to prove that hiring him was the right choice for the city. They decided to give him a chance and the rest was history.”

Steve Deves said he received plenty of support from his wife, Karen, during his tenure as city administrator.

“There were a lot of times where I would miss some stuff with my boys because I had meetings everywhere,” he said. “There was nothing better than driving into my driveway and seeing my wife playing catch or hitting fly balls to my boys, so I knew it was getting taken care of when I wasn’t there.”

Steve Etcher, consultant of the Greater Montgomery County Economic Development Council, was the guest speaker of the banquet. He talked about the progress Montgomery City has made the last several years. The Uncle Ray’s potato chip factory was open for business in 2021. Currently, construction has started on a 160-unit residential complex that is located next to Uncle Ray’s.

“If we don’t have housing, we can’t attract workers,” Etcher said. “If we don’t have workers, we can’t attract businesses. It’s chicken and egg. Everything has to go at the same time. We’re excited to see that because I’m one of these believers who I think activity spawns through activity. I think as you see these construction activities go on in the community, it’s going to even encourage more activity, so I’m excited to see that.”

The banquet was sponsored by Porta King, Jonesburg State Bank and the Mid-Mo Shriners Club. Last year, the event returned for the first time since 2019.

The Montgomery City Area Chamber of Commerce hosts events such as the Chamber Golf Tournament, Hometown Christmas and the Montgomery County High School Honors Banquet. The golf tournament is scheduled for June 9 at the Montgomery County Golf Course.